Spatial and Temporal Price Variations of Sawn Wood Utilized for Furniture Making in Selected Cities in Nigeria

The spatial and temporal price variations of sawn-wood used for furniture making in Lagos, Ibadan and Benin were studied and evaluated. Four wood species popularly used for furniture making in the cities were studied. They are: Mansonia altissima (Mansonia), Khaya ivorensis (Khaya), Cordia millenii (Cordia) and Tectona grandis (Teak). A total of 193 furniture factories comprising of 154 small, 28 medium and 11 large scale were selected in the three cities through stratified random sampling technique. Structured questionnaire was used to generate data from 2001 to 2008 on the dimensions of various planks, their prices, sources and their availability. Further confirmation of the prices of the four wood species and their availability was carried out using sales receipt of sawnwood sellers, sawmillers, and timber contractor in the study area. Data collected were collated by species and analysed using Randomized Complete Block Design to test for the significant differences in price variation among the cities over a period of eight years. The model specification is Yijk = μ + bi + tj + eijk. The results showed that the mean annual price of the wood species varied significantly (P< 0.05) in the three cities between 2001 and 2008. The mean annual price variation of the wood prices was also significant (P<0.05) for the eight years of study. Ibadan had the lowest mean price for the wood species. This was followed by Lagos, while Benin had the highest mean price. The percentage annual price changes were inconsistent and tend to be in decreasing order from 2005 to 2008 for most of the species. Teak had the highest and the lowest percentage annual price changes in 2003 and 2006 respectively in the three cities. To curb the high spatial and temporal price differences in wood producing areas, it is recommended that suitable policies that will ensure market integration through proper fixing of forest tariff and regulations should be developed. The contribution of illegally sawn timber to the gross in-efficiency of sawn-wood pricing should also be prevented.Keywords: Sawn-wood, Spatial, Temporal, Prices, FurnitureJournal of Agriculture and Social Research (JASR) Vol. 11, No. 1, 201

A review of intensive contract poultry farming in Nigeria

Contract farming (CF) is a sort of vertical integration in agricultural commodity chains that provides a business with strong control over several operational processes, including the production process, the features of the items, quantity, quality, and timeliness of project execution. Birds were first domesticated by humans as farm animals, and as a result, many years ago, the contemporary practice of raising birds began with the harvesting of their eggs and young from their natural habitat. The Nigerian poultry industry falls into three main categories: small-, medium-, and large-scale, which are also referred to as backyard, semi-commercial, and commercial respectively. Contract farming emerged as an alternative to traditional or spot marketbased agricultural production and was introduced into Nigeria under a variety of business names, including CHI, AMO, ANIMAL CARE, and ZARTECH, among others. Nigeria consumes 192.69 MT of poultry meat and egg products annually, resulting in enormous environmental impacts that have not been adequately addressed because of the growing use of contract farming. Contract farming has always received a lot of attention from academics and policymakers. Even though contract farming acknowledges the transfer of technology, prospects for increased revenue, and improved access to inputs, a great deal of research has focused on the risks that smallholder farmers face. In recent years, debate has erupted regarding the benefits and dangers of factory poultry production considering rising awareness of the challenges it poses to public health and the environment. This review reveals that backyard flocks of chickens can thrive independently of large-scale poultry operations. Survival traits including tiny size, hardiness, sluggish growth, low mature body weight, tolerance, or resistance to common local disease organisms and parasites define local chickens

Trees in the traditional farming systems in Southeastern Nigeria. A case study of Imo State

A survey of traditional farming systems in Southeastern Nigeria with specific reference to Imo State was undertaken so as to determine the place and role of trees/shrubs in such systems with a view to building upon this traditional knowledge of tree growing when initiating a new agroforestry strategys for the area. Data were generated through three main methods namely formal survey of farmers in the study area, survey of a farmer key informants and sample plot surveys. The result showed that tree/shrub species were dominant features of the traditional farming systems in the state. While a greater percentage (51%) of these trees were deliberately planted, others resulted from natural regeneration. Deliberate tree planting were however more pronounced on compound farms than in the other farm types. For instance, whereas 74.42% of the tree/shrub species found in compound farms were planted, the number was only 27% in the far fields. These tree/shrub species make valuable contributions to the family dietary and income needs. Approximately one-half of the entire food collected from the fallow and on-farm tree/shrub species are consumed by the family members, accounting for as much as 36.4% of the family food needs; incomes from the sale of the remaining one-half accounts for as much as 43.6% of the total family income. The study on species abundance on fallow and farm lands show that the need to ensure regular sources of food was the major consideration in the choice of tree/shrub species for planting and/or protection on fallow and farm lands. More that 90% of trees/shrubs were consumed as food either by humans or animals. It is recommended that location specific agroforesty technology be evolved in Southeastern Nigeria building upon this traditional knowledge about tress/shrubs and their roles in farming systems with more emphasis placed on compound farms. Keywords: agro forestry, traditional knowledge, key informants, species abundance, wildlings, trees, shrubs, seed bank, gene bankJournal of Environmental Extension Vol 5 2005: 25-3